


Useful Applications

by adjectivebear (HealerAriel)



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: AU post-S3, Gen, and Crane is nosy, and hints at the myriad uses of an eidetic memory, in which Abbie reads interracial Revolutionary-era smut and probably refuses to see a connection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 08:29:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8005753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HealerAriel/pseuds/adjectivebear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crane is fascinated by Abbie’s choice of leisure reading. (Post-S3 AU, naturally.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Useful Applications

Oh God, it’s happening.

Almost a hundred pages of excruciating slow burn and it’s _happening_.

Abbie curls up tighter in her chair, feeling her cheeks flush and biting her thumbnail to keep herself from letting out an actual squeal as she turns the page.

_Maddie’s breath caught in her chest as he brushed her ebony curls aside to press a kiss to the back of her neck. “Captain,” she protested weakly, even as her body thrummed with need. “We mustn’t.”_

_Captain Hart clutched her to his chest, and Maddie could feel his heart beating as furiously as her own as he trailed his lips over her skin. “That may be so, Miss Ashe, but I cannot deny my passion for you any longer. Do we not owe it to ourselves to seize any happiness we may find during this wretched war?” Calloused fingertips found her chin, gently turning her head to meet his piercing blue gaze. “_ You _are my happiness.”_

_“And you are mine,” Maddie breathed._

_This was all the prompting Captain Hart required to capture her lips in kiss that seared Maddie to her very soul. His hands roamed her bodice, almost chastely at first, but growing ever bolder as the kiss deepened, their tongues meeting in a sensuous dance. One large hand drifted up to cup her breast and Maddie sighed, pressing herself into his palm as_

“Lieutenant.”

Abbie yelps, nearly jumping out of her skin at the sound of Crane’s voice. “ _How_ is your big gangly ass so stealthy?” she demands, clutching the paperback to her chest.

“Apologies,” Crane says, looking slightly affronted by her choice of words. “I have, in fact, been attempting to catch your attention for some time. I do not recall ever seeing you quite so engrossed in your reading. Are you doing some manner of research?”

Abbie’s face burns. “Uh, no. It’s a novel–it’s set in your time, actually–about, um–” oh, for God’s sake, they’re both in their thirties, why is she being weird about this? “It’s smut. Erotica,” she translates.

Far from the scandalized look she’s expecting to earn, Crane arches a brow in interest. “Indeed?” He holds out his hand. “May I?”

Is this seriously happening right now?

Crane lets out an exasperated sigh. “Oh, Miss Mills, do stop looking at me as though I’ve sprouted an extra head.”

Mutely, Abbie hands him the open book.

“Surely you didn’t presume that your generation _invented_ the concept,” Crane says in that tone of haughty amusement that Abbie steadfastly refuses to find remotely cute. “The ancient world alone was _rife_ with pornographic art. Indeed, the desire to depict erotic scenes seems to be one of the few constants throughout the ages.” He flips the book over to glance at the summary. “Ah, your heroine is a mu–a woman of color,” he corrects himself swiftly, holding one finger aloft.

_Atta boy_ , Abbie thinks, fighting back a grin.

Crane turns his attention back to the page the book is opened to. “The description of the attire is _remarkably_ accurate,” he says, looking mildly impressed as his eyes skim the pages. “Though in reality it didn’t take _nearly_ so long to remove a lady’s gown.”

“What was your record?” Abbie asks before she can stop herself.

“If one was properly motivated, the entire process could be completed in the space of a minute,” Crane says, turning the page. He pauses and tilts his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Of course, perhaps that is entirely the point.” Catching Abbie’s puzzled look, Crane continues, “This… Captain Hart. He has been enamoured of this lady for some time, I presume?”

Abbie nods slowly, not completely sure where he’s going with this.

“Then perhaps it is not haste he craves from their inaugural encounter, but anticipation. Ladies’ garments of the time were rather delightful that way,” he says. “One _could_ rush them off, yes. But one could also… savor. Take one’s time to truly enjoy the seduction.”

Abbie resolutely does not squirm at the way his voice drops.

Crane’s eyes take on a dreamy, faraway look. “To hear your lover gasp at the whisper of your fingers upon her neck. To unlace her stays with torturous leisure, feeling her quiver with impatient desire as each eyelet is freed. To roll silk stockings slowly from silken legs–with care, you tell her, though she knows as well as you do that your true aim is to drive her to the brink of madness before you shall bestow even the chastest of kisses upon her yearning, heated flesh.

“Terribly useful, the fashion of my day. I shall miss it,” Crane says breezily, handing the book back to Abbie.

She swallows dryly. “Maybe _you_ ought to write one of these.”

“Alas, I’m afraid I’ve no knack for fiction,” Crane says with a shrug. “Ah, but as to the purpose of my interruption, dinner is quite nearly finished.”

“Oh. Yeah. Just… give me a minute.”

 

* * *

  
  
When the door of the archives has closed firmly behind Crane in his quest for late-night snacks for the three of them, Abbie nudges Jenny in the side and slides a crisp $20 across the table.

Jenny’s brow furrows. “What’s–?”

Abbie gives her a significant look.

Jenny’s eyes widen, her face breaking into a expression of sheer delight. “Eidetic _spank bank_?”

Abbie says nothing, and buries her flushing face in a dusty tome.


End file.
